What’s it like to speak to a live audience again?

For over two years I have not been able to feel anything from the audiences I have worked with in meetings, webinars and training. I have had tried to see them, strived to hear them but have been unable to sense online if things were truly going as I had intended. This has been one of the consequences of the pandemic and the almost complete cessation of face-to-face events.

So what did I learn in October 2022 in the elegant surroundings of Villa Clerici in Milano?

As part of a panel I was able to live first-hand the experience of being both audience and speaker. Here are six observations from inside the room.

1. The instant feedback from a live audience really lets you know if you’re doing ok. Enjoy the laughter but watch out for the murmur of distraction if you are losing them.
2. If you can make the audience work, if you can stimulate participants with clear ideas and messages then you can make a better connection. Personalization, relevance, revelation and simple ideas work best.
3. Aristotle is never wrong. Get that mix of logos, ethos and pathos right in your rhetoric and there will be something for everyone.
4. “No word was ever as effective as a rightly timed … pause,” Mark Twain reminds us. It lets those in the room think, catch up and allows you to gather your thoughts before moving on. The audience will wait.
5. Less is more. It is unrealistic and unproductive to toss too many ideas into a single speech. Three should be more than enough.
6. Planning and preparation with a well-oiled team are key to a winning programme that will have the audience on their feet and clamouring for more.

OK maybe not clamouring but at least believing they have not had their time wasted.

Speakers pictured left to right: Gianmario Verona, Attilio Fontana, Giuseppina Di Foggia, Ferruccio De Bortoli, Alessandro Spada, David Massey.